South Koreans get younger as traditional age system dropped

South Koreans get younger as traditional age system dropped

South Korea is the last East Asian country to officially still use a method of calculating age that determines babies are aged one at birth, counting their months in the womb as their first year of life.

Under that system everyone gets a year older with the turn of the year rather than on their actual birthday, meaning a baby born on December 31 would be considered two years old on January 1 in Korean age.

From Wednesday South Korea will use the international system that calculates age according to a person's actual date of birth, meaning everyone will officially become a year or two younger.